Something More
by Shana Heartfilia
Summary: Natsu and Lucy are childhood friends entering into the stages of something more. Join them as they make their way through high school, sports, and family crisis's. Can love develop between two romantically scarred teens? AU


Something More

A High School Romance Tale

The brisk air brushed against the blonde girl's fair skin, flailing her hair out behind her as she clutched her hands tightly across her chest. She gazed upward and exhaled, causing a flurry of hot air to react with the colder temperature leaving a misty trail in front of her. Her manicured hands were encased in knitted mittens, and a black woolen cap protected her ears from the chilled atmosphere. Boots with a fur lining adorned her feet as she pounded away at the blacktop, slowly closing the distance between her and the large grass field fifty yards away.

Lucy Heartfilia was on her way to watch her best friend's soccer practice like she did every day after schooling at Fairy Academy. The high school was notorious for its educational and extracurricular activities, especially the soccer program. You either had to pay ridiculous amounts of money to send your child to the school like Lucy's parents had, or be exceptionally outstanding at a sport—like her best friend, Natsu Dragneel.

Lucy and Natsu had met eleven years ago when they were both six years old, right after Lucy had moved into Natsu's neighborhood. Lucy's mother, Layla, had filed for divorce from her husband nearly a month before the big move. Jude Heartfilia had been a great father and husband for numerous years; however, work began to consume him, leaving little time for his family.

Her mother bought a humble little house that looked like something out of a fairy tale. The exterior was built of rough, white stone with grey shingles protecting the roof, vines snaked their way towards the upper story, adding to the vision. In the summer and spring, beautiful pink flowers bloomed from the magnolia tree directly under Lucy's window. A welcoming aura exuded from the house, and a little brick pathway brought visitors right up to the mahogany front door.

It was entirely her mother's and her own. The house was a place she felt safe from all of the expectations placed on her by her father and his high society ideals. Even at six years old, Lucy understood that she needed to act differently than other children her age. Her father started her Cotillion lessons rather early, demanding she increase her grace and etiquette so that she might be suitable for marriage one day.

Lucy loved her father dearly, but she wondered when he would start treating her like his daughter again. Layla had told Lucy once that she and her father had fallen in love as a poor couple, and fallen out of love as a rich one. Lucy didn't like to admit it, but her parent's romantic situation had put a sour taste in her mouth. She wondered if she could trust anyone after she witnessed two people change their feelings towards one another so drastically.

When little Lucy first arrived at her new home, she remembered clutching tightly onto her mother's puffy skirts and peeking out from behind them at the building. After taking in the beautifully crafted house, she noticed the neighboring home only a few yards away from her own.

The style resembled her house rather closely, but the stone was a deep grey. It appeared to be less updated than her home, but not unsightly. She glided her eyes to the top story where the center window sat wide open. Small pink spikes seemed to be dancing back and forth across her vision. Lucy squinted to gain a better look at the strange bouncing creature. Suddenly, a tall man with flaming red hair jumped into the air with a giant smile plastered on his face.

"Gotcha'!" The man grabbed hold of the tiny pink thing and flung it into the air. Lucy noticed that this "thing" was actually a small boy, probably around her age. A weak giggle escaped her lips as she watched the father and son interact.

"Aw, you cheated Igneel! There's no way you coulda' found me that fast!" The man, Igneel, had his strong hands underneath the boy's armpits as he held him face level.

"Are you kidding me? You can't keep still for more than a few seconds, Natsu. I warned you that you wouldn't win at Hide-n-Seek against me."

Natsu huffed and turned his head to the side, a prominent pout engulfed his face. He seemed to notice Lucy and her mother at this point, and he flashed a confused expression. "Hey, who're they?"

Apparently Layla had been gawking at them too, but she suddenly remembered they needed to continue unloading their belongings. She cleared her throat and turned to the little girl. "Well then Lucy, how about we finish grabbing our things, hmm?" The little blonde nodded slowly and turned her back on the pair.

Just as they reached the moving trucks, the neighbor's door flung open, revealing the odd pair. Excitement danced in the pink haired boy's eyes as he viewed Lucy. The father called out to Layla from the doorframe.

"Hey there! You two must be the ones who bought the house. You guys want some help settling in?" Igneel strode forward and took Layla's hand, shaking it welcomingly. He then turned to Lucy and knelt down to her level. A gentle smile graced his features.

"Hi kiddo, you look like you're Natsu's age! Thank God, someone who can distract him. Hey, Natsu! Get your butt over here, bud!"

Igneel looked over his shoulders at the fidgeting boy behind him. Natsu looked surprised before following his father's orders, darting forward towards Lucy.

"Hi." A sheepish grin lit up his face.

"Hello." Lucy's hands clutched the bottom hem of her skirt gingerly, averting her eyes as she spoke.

"I'm Natsu. Don't worry, even though you're a girl, we can still be friends." His toothy grin made Lucy feel more at ease.

"I'm Lucy."

The children's small conversation continued for the rest of the night. Igneel Dragneel invited his new neighbors over for dinner since they hadn't had the chance to stop at the local store yet. Layla discovered that his wife had died in childbirth with Natsu, so he was a single dad raising an insanely active little boy.

While the adults spoke, Natsu grasped Lucy's hand as he darted up the stairs, nearly tripping her as he went. He flung the door to his room open by kicking it harshly, startling the little girl behind him. The door revealed his small, disorganized room. Littered across the floor was dragon stuffed animals and action figures. Legos were spilling out from under his bed, but what caught Lucy's attention first were the posters. Every inch of his walls were covered in soccer posters and action shots of famous players. Small trophies lined his bookshelf next to soccer and dragon books. Lucy looked around amazed.

"Whoa, you really like soccer, huh?" She walked farther into the small room.

"Ha-ha, yeah! How'd you guess?" He cast a charmingly cute smile at her before continuing. "I've been playin' soccer since I was four! I'm on the first grader's team 'cause I'm so good." He beamed down at Lucy.

She giggled softly before clapping her hands together. "You sound amazing! I'd love to watch you play sometime. I've never seen anyone play a sport before. Daddy always made me study or practice my manners…" A distant look filled her eyes as her voice trailed off.

"Well, you hafta' come watch me then!" Natsu flashed her a grin and brought his thumb to his chest. Lucy stared at the tiny boy, realizing then that they were definitely going to be best friends.

She returned his smile and said, "Okay! I promise I'll go to every single one of your practices from today onwards!"

Natsu laughed and asked, "You promise?"

Lucy stuck her pinky towards him. "Pinky promise." The children wrapped their fingers together, sealing the deal, all the while huge smiles adorned their faces.

Lucy was suddenly brought back to the present as she finally reached the giant soccer field. The practice had already begun nearly half an hour ago, but Lucy was stuck with Literature Club activities. She promised her best female friends, Levy and Erza, that she would help with picking the next book they would discuss and dissect for the club that month. Since the girls were now the head of the club after they started their junior year, they were tasked with running the activities and recruiting freshmen. They ended up choosing _The Great Gatsby_ by F. Scott Fitzgerald, one of her personal favorites.

Lucy sighed and made her way towards the metal bleachers on the outskirts of the field. She placed her backpack on the grass before sitting on the second row of the bleachers. Lucy brought her hands to her face and exhaled, trying to bring feeling back to her numb fingers.

It was mid-October, which meant the beginning of the soccer season, but unfortunately this year seemed to be an incredibly chilly one. Lucy flinched internally as she realized how cold she was going to be for the next few months.

Her eyes wandered across the field, looking for the pink haired boy. She found him not long after, as he was the one with the ball currently moving rapidly towards the opposing team's goal.

Their friend Gray was the goalie on the adjacent side, lowering himself into a protective stance as he prepared for the oncoming shot. Natsu was a forward, which meant he scored the majority of the goals during real games. However, Natsu was still serious in friendly scrimmages with his team, never missing the opportunity to show off his skills.

Over the years, Natsu had become the school's number one player, earning him the role as Team Captain. He had also grabbed the hearts of nearly every female in the school due to his happy-go-lucky attitude and ripped body. However, Lucy just rolled her eyes at that. He would always just be her goofball of a best friend, despite what everyone thought about them.

Erza and Levy were convinced they had secret feelings for one another, but Lucy knew better. Natsu had no interest in romance, only soccer. And quite honestly, Lucy was fine with that. She didn't want confusing feelings complicating their relationship. She didn't want to end up like her parents.

Lucy continued watching as Natsu got nearer and nearer to Gray. When he was about twenty feet from the goal, Natsu called out, "Oh, hey Juvia! What are you doing behind Gray?"

Gray's face distorted in discomfort briefly before he turned his back to Natsu, looking for their blue haired friend. Natsu chuckled darkly before he kicked the ball at full force.

"What the hell, you shit! She isn't—" Gray was cut off as the ball whizzed past his face and into the goal, earning Natsu's team a point.

The pink haired idiot rolled around on the floor, laughing and clutching his gut. Lucy simply sighed and shook her head. _Here it comes…_

No sooner had she thought that when Gray's foot made contact with Natsu's exposed stomach, earning him a satisfying groan from the boy on the floor.

"Oi, you idiot! You totally cheated! That point doesn't count!" Gray rammed his head against Natsu's and clutched their hands together, pushing back and forth trying to overpower him.

"Shut up, bro. You're just pissed that I'm better than you." Both boys glared daggers at each other before Coach Laxus made his way over to the pair. He took his clipboard and smacked them both across the head forcefully. "Both of you shut up and stop disrupting practice."

Natsu and Gray released one another and saluted their coach before saying, "Aye sir!"

Lucy laughed outwardly at their ridiculousness. She brought her hand to her mouth as she realized she could be heard from where the commotion was occurring. A few eyes fell on her and whistles rang out. Several of the boys smiled and yelled compliments out to her, mostly about her breasts and appearance. Lucy rolled her eyes. _Teenage boys…_

Natsu yelled at his team to shut up before glancing at his coach, silently asking for permission to visit his friend. Laxus rolled his eyes before motioning towards the blonde. "Go ahead."

Natsu shot his coach a smile of gratitude before jogging over to Lucy. His hair clung slightly to his face from sweat, and his cheeks held a light dusting of pink due to exercising.

Lucy had to admit, he looked _okay_ in his white soccer jersey and shorts. The shirt clung to him in all the right places and the socks and shin guards accented his toned legs.

He greeted her with a smile. "Hey, Lucy! You're late today."

Lucy smiled at him. "Yeah, I had Lit Club stuff, and you know how Erza gets if I skip on helping out." Natsu cringed at the mention of the scarlet haired girl.

Lucy's face shifted for a moment, as if she had remembered something. "Oh yeah, I brought you some hot chocolate in case you got cold during practice." Lucy reached into her backpack and brought out a thermos containing the steaming drink.

Natsu's eyes brightened and he briefly tucked the blonde into his arms for a short embrace. "Dude, I totally love you."

Lucy returned the hug and patted his back. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Now go back out there before Laxus kicks your ass for skipping practice."

Natsu let out a hearty laugh before crossing his arms. "Hah, are you kiddin'? I can totally take that guy!"

Lucy shook her head. "Oh good, because he's right behind you."

Natsu squeaked when Laxus brought him into a choke hold and began dragging him back to the field, mumbling something about "insolence" and "dumbass".

Lucy laughed and leaned her hands on her knees and rested her head in her palms as she watched her best friend leave. Natsu turned around briefly, still lodged between Laxus' arms, and said, "I'll meet you there after practice, and we can walk home together!"

Lucy shook her head and smiled warmly. Even though the weather was so cold, Lucy felt warm on the inside, and she had the feeling it was this pink haired idiot's fault.

**Hope you enjoyed chapter one. I'm probably going to update this story more regularly than my other ones. My apologies o.o**


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